By annette s



W. H. MORGAN, SR

APPARATUS FOR DISINTEGRATING SUQARYVGANE Dec. 3, 1929. Re. 17,513

Original Filed June 4, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W. H. MORGAN, SR

APPARATUS FOR DISINTEGRATING SUGAR GANE Dec. 3, 1929.

Original Filed June 4, 192,5

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @Him nuits suineand Figure o Reissued Dec. 3, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM H. MOR-GAN, SR., DECEASED, LATE 0F ALLIANCE, OHIO, BY ANNETTE S. MORGAN, EXECUTRIX, OF ALLIANCE, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO MORGAN HURR'YCANB COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F FLORIDA Original No. 1,646,761, dated October 25,

reissue filed June 15, 1928.

This invention relates to an improvement in continuous rotary centrifugal shear adapted particularly for converting sugar cane or other sugar producingr material into a fibrous mass which will readily pass through juice extracting rolls, and which is designed to be used in connection Withother mechanism for extractingr the nice from the cane.

The primary` object ot' the present invention is toiinprove the construction and mode of operation oit' devices for disintegrating sugar cane stalks and the like, and to produce an improved and highly ellicicnt machine by which such material may be disintegrated so as to rediure the saine to a liln'ous mass.

lith this and other objects in view the invention consists in the parts and combina.- tion ot' parts as will be more fully described ind pointed out in the claims.

lu the acconij-anying drawings, Figure l is a vien' in vertical. cross section of the apparatus; Figure il is a view .in plan of the is a view in plan of the top, the stationary disk being removed.

ln using the shredder or disintegrator the cane is cut into short lengths, about six inches more or less and these cut sections are then fed to the disintegrator which is located in the mill.

The canen'epared in the manner above described is red into an opening or openings (S in the top member or plate T of the rotary shear, which plate is stationary and held in place by the supporting member 48. The feed openinpr or openings are located near the center ol plate 7 which is circular in form and slightly conical. It is provided centrally with an opening closed by cap 9 which covers the upper cud of shaft 10. This plate T is provided on its under side with a series oi straightgrooves which radiate from the center o1 the member, and each -groove carries a shear blade or knife 11 which latter is beveled at its side edges and wedge shaped longitudinally the thicker ends o't the knives being adjacent the center ol plate as shown in Figure 1. The knives may be beveled at one or both side edges, but they may, it desired, be beveled on one 1927. Serial No. 34,878, led .Tune 4, 1925. Application for Serial No. 285,649.

side only so as to form cutting edges which co-act with the knives 12 located Within grooves 13 formed in the lower plate 14. This lower plate is circular in form, of less diameter than the upper plate and is rigidly secured centrally to the upper end of shaft 10.- This lower plate is flat so that when combined with the upper plate a gradually decreasing space is formed between the two plates, the space in the outer edge or periphery being comparatively smaller and constitutingr the outlet for the sheared or fibrous material. If desired, the lower or revolving plate may also be made slightly conical. The space between the two plates adjacent to the center, is considerably greater than the width of sugar cane stalk so as to permit the latter to be readily fed into this space and the centrifugal force set up by the revolution of the lower plate causes the material aslit is sheared to flow outwardly toward the outer edge of lower revolving plate.

The knives 12 in the lower plate may also be beveled and are curved or scimitar shaped longitudinally and fit within similarly shaped recesses formed in the lower plate. The shears 12 of the lower plate are deeper or thicker at their inner ends so that the knives project at their inner ends a, greater distance from the lower plate than they do at their outer edges. When the two plates with the knives are assembled the adjacent faces oi the knives are parallel and nearly in Contact.

Secured to the top or fixed plate or disk 7 is the circular trough shaped shield 17 which latter is secured to the underside of the upper disk 7 as shown in Figure 1, and projects downwardly, inwardly and upwardly and terminates well within the periphery of the lower disk 14, and close to the latter. This trough or shield 17 is as before Stated circular in shape, and is so located that the shredded fibrous material which is ejected at the periphery of the rotary disk is caught up by said shield or trough, and is carried around therein by the fan blades 18 which latter are rigidly secured to the underside of the rotary disk or plate 14, and operate by suction or air blast and by direct contact to carry the shredded material around and discharge the same tlnough the spout 19, from which it is carried by a conveyor or otherwise to the juice extracting apparatus.

The fan blades 1.8 project beyond the periphery of the revolving disk as shown and are enlarged at their outer encs as at 20, so as to project up .approximately to or `above the revolving .disk '14 to engage the screw bolts to the upper stationary disk, and

also on one or both pairs of cross beams 21 f which are secured to the supporting member 8, which as previously explained carry the upper stationary disk or plate 7.

The lower .plate 14 as before stated, is secured to the upper end of shaft 10, which latter is vmounted in the vertical bearings 15 and is provided with the pulley 16 by vas which it is rotated.

In the operation of the apparatus the material which may be cane or other stalks, or other material, to be disintegrated, is fed into the machine by gravity through a hopper or hoppers located above the opening 6 or openings in the upper plate 7. As the lower plate is rapidly revolved by a belt or a pulley 16, or by any suitable gearing, or by a direct connection with a vertical motor, the material will be thrown by centrifugal force outwardly between the shears on the upper and lower plates and coming in contact with said shears will be disintegrated into a fibrous mass, and thus put it in a' condition to be readily passed between juice extracting rollers without any further crushing. The lower knives being scimitar shaped also have a tendency to aid the progress of the material from the center ofV the plates out toward's the discharge openings between the plates. The knives are held to their res ective upper and lower plates by means o bolts the heads of which are located in countersunk holes in theknives or cutters.

The shredded fibrous sections after they are ejected from between the two disintegrating disks is thrown into the trough or shield 17 and is carried by the fan blades 18 around to the discharge spout 19, which preferably dischar es onto a conveyor which carries the firous sections up or to the juice extracting apparatus which latter may be of any approved type. j

While the drawings show the upper disk stationary and the lower disk revolving, I do not wish to limit myself to this arrangewith said shield and means actuated by the I will be cut or shredded into fibrous hay-like ment but that the upper disk might also be revolving in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation' of lower disk. The product of the machine is a result of the relative rotation of the two disks, and this relative rotation can be obtained by either having one of the disks'stationary and revolving the other, or as stated above, by revolving both of the disks but in opposite directions.

It is evident that many slight changes might be resorted to in the relative arrangementof parts shown and described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, hence would have it understood that it is not desired to be confined to the exact construction and arangement of parts shown and described is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

1. In an apparatus for converting sugar cane andl other sugar producing material into a tibrous mass, consisting of a member having cutting or shearing members on its inner iace, a second member having cutting or shearing members on its inner face, the cutting or shearing niember on the two shearing units of the apparatus coacting to shred or shear the sugar producing material longitudinally into a fibrous mass in contradistinction vto grinding it into granular particles and one of said members being mounted to rotate, a shield embracing the periphery of the rotating member, a discharge spout connected rotating member for forcing the material discharged into the shield through'the discharge spout.

2. In an apparatus for converting sugar cane and like material into a fibrous mass, consisting in a member having shear blades on its inner face, a second member having shear blades on its inner face, one of said members adapted to be rapidly revolved and one of them being conical shaped so that the space between them will be greater at the center' than at the periphery so as to permit the cane stalks ,to be fed lengthwise or at right angles to the shaft carrying the movable member whereby the stalks sections in contradistinction to grinding them into granular particles, the opposing faces on the two sets oi shears approximately contacting throughout their lengths, a shield surrounding the periphery of the rotating member and provided with a discharge spout and means carried by the rotating member and located within the shield for forcing the shredded material toward and out of the exit spout.

3. In an apparatus for converting sugar 3 Having fully described the invention what cane and like material into a fibrous mass consisting in a member having shear blades on its inner face, a second member having shear blades on its inner face, and means 'for rotating one ot said members, and one of the latter being conical so that the space between them is greater at the center than at the peripheriY so as to permit the cane stalks to be fed lengthwise or at right angles to the shaft carrying the movable member whereby the stalks will be carried around and shredded into fibrous hay-like sections in contradistinction to grinding them into granular particles, and the adjacent faces of the shear blades being approximately in contact, a trough shaped shield embracing the periphery of the rotating disintegrating member provided With a discharge spout and means on the rotary member for projecting the sheared mass in the shield to the discharge spout of the latter.

4. In an apparatus for converting sugar tane and like material into a fibrous mass, consisting in a member having shear blades on .its inner face, a second member having shear blades on its upper face, the blades of one of said members .being scimitar shaped to assist centrifugal force in carrying the fibrous mass to the discharge opening at the periphery of said members, means for rotating one ot said members, a trough shaped shield embracing `the periphery of the rotating member and means on the rotating member for assisting in the removal ot' the material from between the two shredding members and for forcing the fibrous material to the discharge spout of the shield.

In an apparatus for converting sugar cane and like material into a fibrous mass in contradistinction to grinding into granular particles for the subsequent extraction of the juice therefrom, consisting of a conical fixed member having shear blades on its inner face, a fiat member having shear blades on its inner face, means for rotating the last mentioned member, a trough shaped shield embracing the rotating member, and provided with a discharge spout and means carried by said rotating member forforcingthe shredded material deposited in the trough to the discharge exit in the latter.

6. In an apparatus for converting sugar cane and like material into a fibrous mass for the subsequent extraction of the juice therefron'i, consisting ot' a fixed member having shear blades on its inner face, a second member having shear blades on its inner face, means for rotating the second member whereby the stalks will be Carried outwardly lengthwise and around between the said iaces of said numbers and finally ejected between the peripheries thereof, a trough shaped shield embracing the periphery of the rotating member and provided with a 'discharge spout and fan blades secured to said rotating member and. moving Within the shield.

7. In an apparatus for converting sugar cane and like material into a fibrous mass for the subsequent extraction of the juice therefrom, consisting of a fixed member having shear blades on its inner face, a co-acting member having shear blades on its inner face, means for rotating the second member whereby the stalks fed into the space between the'two shearing members will be carried around and outwardly until it is thoroughly shredded in contradistinction to grinding it into granular particles, a trough shaped shield rigidly secured in place around the periphery ot' the rotating member, overlapping the latter' and provided with a discharge spout and means carried by the rotating member and moving in the trough for forcing the shredded material to the discharge opening in the latter.

8. In an4 apparatus for converting sugar cane and like material in a-tibrous mass for the subsequent extraction of the juice therefrom, consisting ot' a fixed member having shear blades on its inner face, a coacting member having shear blades on its inner face, means for rotating the second member whereby the cane stalks will be carried around with -their longitudinal axes at right angles to the axis of the rotatingmemberwhereby the stalks will be shredded into a fibrous hay-like mass in contradistinction to grinding them into granular particles, a trough shaped shield secured to the fixed member and embracing and overlapping the periphery of the rotating member, and blades on the rotating member and moving in the shield, the said blades being of approximately the shape of the cross-section of the trough or shield.

9. In an apparatus for converting sugar cane and like material into a fibrous mass in contradistinction to a granular mass, consisting in an upper member having shear blades on its lower face, a lower member having shear blades on its upper face, one ot' said members adapted to be rapidly revolved and one of them being conical shaped so that the space between them will be greater at the center than at the periphery to permit the cane stalks to be fed into the shearing space with their longitudinal axes approxin'iately at right angles to the axis of the revolving shear member, the opposing faces on the two sets of shears being approximately horizontal and nearly contacting throughout their lengths.

10. In an apparatus for converting sugar cane and like material into a fibrous mass in contradistinction to a granular mass consisting in an upper member having shear blades on its lower face, a lower member having shear blades on its upper face, and means for rotating one of said members, and one of the latter being conical so that the space between iis them is greater atthc center than at the pcripliery to permit the cane stalks to be fed into the space between the shearing surfaces,

approximately at right angles to the axis of the rotating member, and the adjacent faces of the shear blades being horizontal and approximately in contact.

11. Anapparatus for reducing sugar cane and the like to a fibrous mass, having in combination a member having an inner cane confining face, shear blades extending from the inner, face ot` said member, a rotary member having a cane confining face arranged in opposed relation to said face of said first member and spaced therefrom, and shear blades projecting from said face of said rotary member and co-operating With said first mentioned blades` to shred or shear the rane. longitudinally into a fibrous mass.

12. An apparatus for reducing sugar cane and the like to a fibrous mass. having in combination a stationary member having an inner cane confining face, shear blades extending from the inner face of said member, a rotary member having a cane confining face arranged in opposed relation to said face of said first member and spaced therefrom. and shear blades projecting from said face of said rotary member and co-operating with said first mentioned blades to shred or shear the cane longitudinally into a fibrous mass.

13. An apparatus for reducing sugar cane and the like to a fibrous mass, having in coxnbination a member having an inner cane confining face, shear blades projecting from the inner face of said member, a rotary member haring' a cane confining face opposed to the inner face of said first member and spaced therefrom, said members being formed so that the space between the same is greater adjacent the axis of the rotary member than adjacent the periphery thereof, shear blades projecting from said t'ace ot' the latter member to co-act with the blades on said first member to shred or shear the cane longitudinally into a fibrous mass, and means by which the cane may be introduced adjacent the axis of the rotary member, the cane passing outwardly from said axis between said members.

14. An apparatus for reducing sugar cane and the like to a fibrous mass, having in combination a member having an inner cane confining face.. shear blades extending from the inner face of said member, a rotary member having a cane confining `face arranged in opposed relation to said face of said first member and spaced therefrom, shear blades projectingY from said face ot' the latter member and co-operating with said first-nientioned blades, to shred or shear the cane longitudinally into a fibrous mass. means forming a peripheral passage into which the material is discharged from between said members, and means for projecting the material through said passage longitudinally thereof.

15. An apparatus for reducing sugar cane and the like to a fibrous mass, having in combination a member having an inner cane confining face, shear blades extending-from the inner face of said member, a rotary member having a cane confining face arranged in opposed relation to said face of said first member and spaced therefrom, shear blades projecting from said face of the latter member and cri-operating with said first-men tioned blades to shred or shear the cane longitudinally into a fibrous mass. means forming a circumferential passage into which the material is discharged from between said members, fan blades carried by the rotary member and rotating Within said passage for projecting the material therethrough, and a discharge outlet for said passage.

16. An apparatus for reducing sugar cane and the like to a fibrous mass, having in combination a member having an inner cane conning face. a series of shear blades projecting from the inner face of said member, a rotary member having a cane confining face in opposed relation to said face of said first member and spaced therefrom, scimitar shaped blades projecting from t-he cane confining face of one of said rotary members and coacting with the blades on said other member to shred or shear thel cane longitudinally into a fibrous mass, and means by which the rotary member may be rot-ated in a direction to cause the blades to assist in throwing the material outwardly away from the axis of the same.

17. An apparatus for reducing sugar cane and the like to a fibrous mass, having in combination a member having an inner cane confining face, a series of shear blades projecting from the inner face of said member, a rotary member having a cane confining face opposed to the inner face of said first member and spaced therefrom, one of said faces being conical in form so that the space between said faces diminishes in width from the axis of the rotary member toward the periphery thereof, and shear blades projecting from the said face of the latter member and coacting with the blades on said first member to shred or shear the cane longitudinally into a fibrous mass.

18. An ajliparatns for reducing sugar cane and the like to a fibrous mass, having in combination a stationary plate, shear blades projecting from the inner face of said plate, av

rotary member having a face arranged in opposed relation to the inner face of said plate and spaced therefrom, shear blades projecting from the said face of said rotary member and co-acting with the blades projecting from said plate to shred or shear the cane, fed between said members adjacent the axis of said rotary member, longitudinally into a fibrous mass, means forming a passage for the collecting of the material discharged from between said members and adjacent the peripheries thereof, and fan blades mounted on said rotary member and operating in said passage to create air currents to assist in carrying the material radially between the said members and cause the same to be dislcharged into said passage, said fan blades also means by which one of said members may be rotated.

20. A machine for disintegrating sugar cane stalks comprising, in combination, caneconfining walls separated by a relatively narrow space through which the Cane stalks are passwd.A and means tor splitting the cane stalks in general directions longitudinally of the stalks while confined in the narrow space between said walls to reduce the same to a fibrous mass. 1

2l. A machine for disintegrating sugar cane stalks comprising, in combination7 canen confining walls separated by a relatively narrow space converging in the direction of increment ot the cane stalks, through which space the stalks are passed, and means for splitting the cane stalks in general directions longitudinally of the stalks while Confined in the narrow space between said walls to reduce the same to a fibrous muss.

22. A machine for disintegrating sugar cane stalks comprising, in combination` caneeonfining walls separated bf a relatively narrow space through which the cane stalks are passed, and means for cutting the cane stalks in general directions longitudinally of the stalks progressively/ into finer and finer particles during their passage through the narrow space between said walls to reduce the same to a fibrous mass.

23. A machine for disintegrating sugar cane stalks comprising7 in combination, caneconning walls separated by a relatively narrow space` and devices for forcing the stalks through the'space between said walls and for splitting the same repeatedly in general directions longitudinally of the stalks while passing between said walls to reduce the same to a loose fibrous mass.

Q4. A machine for disintegrating sugar cane stalks com prising, in combination, Walls for confining the cane stalks separated by a relatively narrow space and extending outwardly trom a central axis, and means for whirling the cane stalks about said axis between said walls and for splitting the same repeatedly in the general directions of the axes of the stalks to reduce the stalks to a loose fibrous mass.

25. A machine for disintegrating sugar cane stalks cmnprising7 in combination`l walls for confining the cane stalks separated by a relatively narrow space extending outwardly from a central axis and converging from said axis outwardly, and means for whirling the stalks about said axis between said walls and for splitting the same repeatedly1 in the general directions of the axes of the stalks. to reduce the stalks to a loose fibrous mass.

26. A machine for disintegrating sugar' cane stalks Comprising, in combination, walls separated by a relatively narrow space for confining cane stalks introduced therebetween, and means for splitting the cane stalks repeatedly in general directions longitudinally thereof and for subjecting the. stalks to violent impacts while passing between said walls to reduce the same to a loose fibrous mass. 4

Signed at Alliance, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio` this 4th day of June, 1928.

ANNETTE S. MORGAN, Eecutr of the Estate of William H. Mm'n gam, Deceased. 

